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When I make hamburgers at home, I'm always underwhelmed. The outside and insides need to get cooked perfectly, or they're too dry, not cooked enough, etc. That's what's always been so attractive about fast food burgers...they're thin enough that they cook super fast, and that makes them cook well but stay somewhat juicy!

I've been toying with recipes at home for years, to no avail. Finally, I thought, "Maybe I should just make my burgers LOOK like a fast food burger, and then cook it."

So...I did! I rolled them out with a rolling pin, and cooked on a super hot skillet under a broiler in my kitchen. It's perfection!!! And now we can finally cook these with grass fed meat and save a TON of money at home!

Here's the recipe:

You'll need the following:

Ground beef (regular 15% fat is what I bought...have to try this next with grass fed)1 cast iron skilletPlastic wrapParchment paperRolling pin

Open all of your windows and turn on all of the fans in your house.

Preheat your broiler with your skillet in it, approximately 4" from the element, for 10 minutes.

Wonder how a modified version would work for turkey. I keep thinking about smashing lean turkey (white and dark mix) flat and cooking it ASAP! I have been roasting patties in my convection oven that are pretty tasty, but this sounds like a worthwhile change now and then... Thanks for posting!

"We are all born ignorant, but one must work hard to remain stupid." -- Benjamin Franklin

If you're cooking a hambuger and you don't have it overly thick, cook it on one side but don't turn it until it looks nearly halfway through. Then flip it. A barrier for moisture is created cooking in this fashion. The other trick is to put it in an oven and let the inside finish cooking, when the outside is done.

When you cook steak you always let it "rest" either on low heat or in oven before you serve it. What happens is the inside will cook so it isn't raw, but it'll retain the pink color. The outside of course being cooked on high enough heat too quickly seal it on both sides. You can't cook a steak correctly by leaving it on one side and flipping, then cutting into it immediately unless you want it well done or maybe medium well if you're lucky.

None of this matters to me because I don't like steak, and when I have turkey burger I like it well done. As a child I preferred beef hamburgers totally dry and well done near crisping.

The amount of grease is a pain in the butt, though. First burgers are easy...second batch really smokes up the house.

Why not pour out the fat and wipe the skillet before reheating it so at least most of the fat is removed to make less smoke. It won't eliminate it all, but a significant portion of it... You could also do it outside on a bbq grill - at least the smoke isn't in the house....

As a child I preferred beef hamburgers totally dry and well done near crisping.

Which reminds me... Do you remember those dry, thin hamburgers McDonald's used to serve that had practically NO fat? Maybe you are too young. But anyway not many people liked them so they disappeared. But for some reason I loved them! Everyone thought I was crazy!! But I was on a low fat diet, and they worked. I can just see these turkey burgers resembling those burgers... The funny thing was that it took quite a bit of pressure to force the McDonald's burger into shape. Some college students bought some of it from the college where it was "invented" and there was no way under the sun they could force the stuff into a patty. Maybe they should have tried running over it with a truck and cutting it up with a big biscuit cutter!

"We are all born ignorant, but one must work hard to remain stupid." -- Benjamin Franklin

Wonder how a modified version would work for turkey. I keep thinking about smashing lean turkey (white and dark mix) flat and cooking it ASAP! I have been roasting patties in my convection oven that are pretty tasty, but this sounds like a worthwhile change now and then... Thanks for posting!

I really like spicing turkey with thyme. My wife and I love it and I can get her to eat almost any vegetable in a stir fry with ground turkey and thyme - so long as I don't tell her that I have used some ghee.

My weight loss goal: 220 lbs. A 6'4" dyslexic oddball: the size of a line-backer, the silhouette of Winnie-the-Pooh.

I really like spicing turkey with thyme. My wife and I love it and I can get her to eat almost any vegetable in a stir fry with ground turkey and thyme - so long as I don't tell her that I have used some ghee.

Which reminds me that I love parsnips, and I think they would be a great addition to a turkey stir fry. Do you use fresh or dried thyme?

"We are all born ignorant, but one must work hard to remain stupid." -- Benjamin Franklin